Reportlinker Adds 3D Web

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

3D Web

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0177924/3D-Web.html

This report explores the technological and economic environment of the 3D Web, from the partial use of 3D to fully three-dimensional universes. It identifies the services that are key to enabling the migration to 3D: e-commerce, mapping, serious gaming… and offers a close-up look at virtual worlds, using original business models for buying virtual goods, and at augmented reality, the next central 3D application on mobile devices.

Key questions

-- What are the current and future key 3D technologies on the Web?

-- What business models do virtual worlds employ?

-- What lessons can we take from 3D developments in other industries : gaming, CAD, etc.?

-- Which Web services are the most likely to migrate to 3D?

-- How are the Internet's leading players positioning themselves with respect to 3D?

-- Will the Web go fully 3D?

Table of contents

1. Executive Summary ................ 8

1.1. Emerging 3D Web applications .................... 9

1.2. Development of new business models for the Web ................. 10

1.3. Content creation the main obstacle to broader deployment ..... 11

2. Introduction ........................... 13

3. Technologies ......................... 15

3.1. Technological value chain .......................... 15

3.2. Formats and standards . 17

3.3. Technological issues ..... 19

3.4. Types of solution ........... 19

3.5. Positioning of the key players ..................... 21

3.6. Technical impact on the networks .............. 22

3.7. Technological roadmaps ............................. 23

3.8. 3D on mobile ................. 23

4. Virtual worlds ........................ 26

4.1. Framework data ............ 26

4.1.1. An evolving phenomenon ............. 26

4.1.2. Relative success compared to the core Web 2.0 applications .................. 30

4.2. Market segmentation .... 31

4.2.1. Virtual world demographics ........... 31

4.2.2. Virtual world positioning ................ 32

4.3. Overall value chain of virtual worlds ........... 41

4.3.1. Value chain ..... 41

4.3.2. Player profiles . 42

4.3.3. Influential players .......................... 46

4.4. Development outlook .... 49

5. Major 3D Web markets aside from virtual worlds .......................... 57

5.1. Massively multiplayer online games ........... 57

5.1.1. Definition of MMOG and persistent universes ............ 57

5.1.2. The massively multiplayer online game market .......... 59

5.1.3. Constantly evolving business models ......................... 62

5.1.4. Top MMOG market players ........... 63

5.2. Geographical representation ...................... 67

5.2.1. Navigation and driving directions .. 67

5.2.2. Local searches via directories and city guides ............ 71

5.2.3. Is 3D a real plus? .......................... 73

5.3. Virtual tours ................... 75

5.3.1. Travel/tourism . 75

5.3.2. Real estate ..... 78

5.4. E-learning and serious gaming ................... 81

5.4.1. The serious games market ........... 81

5.4.2. A new generation of educational tools ........................ 82

5.4.3. Some prospects ............................ 85

5.5. E-commerce .................. 89

5.5.1. 3D and the challenges of e-commerce: enhancing the shopping experience to stimulate

sales .............. 89

5.5.2. The different types of 3D e-commerce services ......... 89

5.5.3. Deploying 3D e-commerce services ........................... 95

5.5.4. Limitations of 3D ........................... 98

5.5.5. Trends ............ 98

5.6. A new way to browse the Web ................... 99

6. Business models associated with the 3D Web ............................ 103

6.1. General information .... 103

6.2. Advertising .................. 105

6.2.1. Types of advertising .................... 105

6.2.2. Involvement of brands and media ............................. 106

6.2.3. Measurement tools still poorly adapted .................... 109

6.3. Subscriptions .............. 111

6.4. Virtual goods and micro-transactions ....... 114

6.4.1. Virtual and dematerialised goods and services ....... . 114

6.4.2. Leading players and the largest market: Asia shows the way ................ 116

6.4.3. Virtual currency ........................... 119

6.4.4. Means of payment ...................... 119

6.4.5. Conclusion .... 121

6.5. Indirect revenue/bundles .......................... 122

7. Outlook .. 125

7.1. Augmented reality ....... 125

7.1.1. What is augmented reality? ........ 125

7.1.2. Amazing applications… still a rarity? ........................ 126

7.1.3. Augmented reality on mobile handsets ..................... 128

7.2. Main issues and challenges of the 3D Web ........................... 129

7.2.1. Creating 3D content .................... 129

7.2.2. Interoperability ............................ 130

7.2.3. Integration of 3D Web technologies .......................... 130

7.2.4. Metrics ......... 130

7.2.5. Elements specific to virtual worlds ............................ 130

7.3. Development of the 3D Web ..................... 131

Tables and figures

Table 1: Examples of virtual worlds aimed at the under 15 set ............ 33

Table 2: Examples of toy-based virtual worlds ....... 34

Table 3: Examples of virtual worlds that act as social networks .......... 36

Table 4: Examples of thematic virtual universes .... 38

Table 5: Examples of virtual worlds for adults ........ 39

Table 6: Examples of virtual world platform providers ......................... 43

Table 7: Examples of providers of applications that can be integrated into virtual worlds . 44

Table 8: Examples of companies that specialise in the creation of content for virtual worlds.......................... 45

Table 9: Examples of agencies that specialise in virtual worlds .......... 46

Table 10: Asia's top virtual worlds ............................ 53

Table 11: Examples of players offering collaborative work solutions for business, based on virtual worlds...... 56

Table 12: Number of new online title releases ......... 59

Table 13: Average online video game development costs ($ million) .... 59

Table 14: Online market (EUR million), 2009-2013 . 60

Table 15: Active online gamers (million), 2009-2013 ............................. 61

Table 16: Spending on advertising in online games, by region (EUR million) ..................... 62

Table 17: The top MMOG developers and publishers ........................... 63

Table 18: Main online map and driving direction sites ........................... 68

Table 19: A selection of serious games specialists .. 82

Table 20: Cost of a serious game depending on technical and educational choices ........... 88

Table 21: Examples of virtual shops and malls ........ 94

Table 22: Assessment of the effectiveness of the feature ..................... 96

Table 23: E-commerce leaders' positioning with respect to 3D ............. 97

Table 24: Business models of the main virtual worlds and online games .......................... 105

Table 25: Examples of brand integration into virtual worlds ................. 107

Table 26: Examples of partnerships between media companies and virtual worlds .......... 108

Table 27: Examples of virtual worlds that offer a premium subscription ............................ 112

Table 28: Types of items sold on 3D sites ............. 115

Table 29: Revenue generated by a selection of virtual worlds and instant messaging services ..................... 117

Table 30: Examples of virtual currencies ............... 119

Table 31: Payment methods used by the different sites ...................... 120

Table 32: Examples of augmented reality applications for mobile handsets ...................... 128

Figure 1: Virtual world segmentation by average user age and number of active visitors .. 10

Figure 2: Value chain for virtual worlds designed to be a source of revenue ...................... 11

Figure 3: Types of 3D Web offering: virtual world, 3D Web browsing, objects and avatars 14

Figure 4: 3D Web technological value chain ........... 15

Figure 5: 3D Web Solutions ...... 20

Figure 6: The Onlive offer ......... 21

Figure 7: Mobile 3D software architecture ............... 24

Figure 8: Growth of the number of virtual worlds on the Internet .......... 27

Figure 9: Growth of the total number of registered and active users worldwide ................. 27

Figure 10: Growth of the number of unique visitors from the United States on a selection of virtual world sites,

July 2006-July 2008 ... 28

Figure 11: Increase in time spent on Second Life, 2006-2009 ................ 28

Figure 12: Main reasons why people go on Second Life ........................ 29

Figure 13: Comparison of the number of unique visitors on social networking sites, video sites and virtual

worlds in 2008 ........... 30

Figure 14: Comparison of the increase in the time spend on Web 2.0 sites and virtual worlds in the UK,

December 2007 and December 2008 ...... 30

Figure 15: Breakdown of the average age of virtual world users ............ 31

Figure 16: Male/female breakdown of virtual world users ....................... 31

Figure 17: Virtual world segmentation by average user age and number of active visitors .. 32

Figure 18: The virtual universe of Club Penguin ....... 34

Figure 19: Webkinz stuffed animals, from real to virtual ......................... 35

Figure 20: The Habbo virtual universe ...................... 37

Figure 21: World of Cars, the virtual universe according to Disney ........ 37

Figure 22: MTV, vMTV and VLES virtual worlds ....... 38

Figure 23: Screen captures of Mycosm and Blue Mars .......................... 39

Figure 24: The virtual universe of Second Life .......... 40

Figure 25: Technological value chain of virtual worlds ............................ 41

Figure 26: Value chain for virtual worlds sustained by advertising .......... 42

Figure 27: Value chain for virtual worlds designed to be a source of revenue ...................... 42

Figure 28: Examples of virtual worlds created with the Multiverse platform .......................... 43

Figure 29: Examples of Justin Timberlake-branded virtual goods created by Virtual Greats 44

Figure 30: Orange Island in Second Life ................... 45

Figure 31: Mattel's Barbie Girls ... 47

Figure 32: Yahoo!'s Avatar Towns ............................ 48

Figure 33: Google Lively, the virtual world according to Google ............. 48

Figure 34: Integration of a YouTube video in Small Worlds .................... 50

Figure 35: Integration of Vivaty in Facebook and AIM ............................ 51

Figure 36: zOMG!, the MMORPG integrated into Gaia Online ............... 53

Figure 37: Mini Life: Cyworld's 3D universe .............. 54

Figure 38: Second Life used by IBM as a collaborative work platform .... 55

Figure 39: Integration of a 3D environment in IBM's Lotus Sametime .... 56

Figure 40: Main types of MMOG . 59

Figure 41: Number of active massively multiplayer online gamers ......... 61

Figure 42: Active World of Warcraft subscriptions around the globe ....... 65

Figure 43: World of Warcraft (Activision Blizzard) – Screenshot ............. 65

Figure 44: World of Warcraft (Activision Blizzard) – In-game character .. 66

Figure 45: World of Warcraft Servers ........................ 66

Figure 46: Market share of the main online map sites in the United States, in September 2008........................ 67

Figure 47: New York in 3D on Bing Maps via Virtual Earth ..................... 69

Figure 48: Use of Google Earth in the USA and the UK ......................... 70

Figure 49: New York City in 3D in Google Earth ....... 71

Figure 50: PagesJaunes "Ville in 3D" application ...... 72

Figure 51: Difference between a 90 degree overhead and a bird's-eye view .... 74

Figure 52: Integration of Street View in Google Maps ............................. 75

Figure 53: Representation of the Coliseum in Rome in Google Earth .... 76

Figure 54: Virtual tour of a hotel on Expedia.com via a 360 degree panoramic photo .................... 77

Figure 55: 3D modelling of the city of Cannes .......... 78

Figure 56: Virtual property tours .. 80

Figure 57: Areas of application for serious games .... 83

Figure 58: Pulse!, a serious game for training medical interns ............... 83

Figure 59: Reseaux, a 3D serious game for construction workers and students .................. 84

Figure 60: Hair-Be12, L'Oreal's online serious game 85

Figure 61: Entre2, serious game developed by Daesign to train managers in job interviewing.......................... 86

Figure 62: America's Army, the first MMO serious game in 3D .............. 86

Figure 63: PowerUp, an educational MMO serious game from IBM ....... 87

Figure 64: Example of a virtual agent designed by Virtuoz for an e-commerce site ............. 90

Figure 65: Virtual models on Lands' End .................. 91

Figure 66: Comparison between the real model and the standard virtual model .................. 92

Figure 67: Ability to view a pair of glasses in 3D ....... 93

Figure 68: Design of a customised product in 3D on Lego Factory ........ 93

Figure 69: Virtual bookshop on Kinset ...................... 95

Figure 70: The Kinset universe ... 95

Figure 71: 3D features installed by e-commerce sites ............................ 96

Figure 72: Amazon Window Shop ............................. 97

Figure 73: Search-cube: 3D search engine ............... 99

Figure 74: IMUV and communication in 3D ............. 100

Figure 75: Web browsing according to Yoowalk ..... 101

Figure 76: Integration of avatars into Web pages according to Weblin and RocketOn ....... 102

Figure 77: Breakdown of virtual worlds' revenue sources in 2008 ........ 103

Figure 78: Evolution of virtual worlds' revenue sources, 2008-2009 ..... 104

Figure 79: Integration of advertising in Second Life 105

Figure 80: Showing the trailer for the film 300 ......... 106

Figure 81: Examples of brands integrated into There.com ................... 107

Figure 82: Partnership between NBC and Habbo for the TV series, Heroes ...................... 108

Figure 83: Integration of American Idol into Habbo . 109

Figure 84: SL Business Directory's Guaranteed Visitors programme ... 110

Figure 85: Growth of the number of virtual world users who pay for a subscription ............ 111

Figure 86: Paid subscription formulas for Club Penguin in the US ....... 112

Figure 87: MMO Ragnarok Online shifts to Free2Play .......................... 113

Figure 88: Example of meditation-related virtual goods that can be bought on IMUV ........ 115

Figure 89: NBA branded jerseys ............................. 116

Figure 90: LG electronics shop in Cyworld .............. 116

Figure 91: Virtual goods in 2D and 3D .................... 118

Figure 92: Gateway on Webkinz between the site for kids and the e-store for parents ...... 118

Figure 93: Examples of prepaid cards ..................... 120

Figure 94: Payment methods offered by Habbo ...... 121

Figure 95: From the physical to the virtual on Webkinz ........................ 122

Figure 96: Licensed products on the Club Penguin site ........................ 122

Figure 97: Nike's 3D customisation portal ............... 123

Figure 98: Barbie Girl website ... 123

Figure 99: Examples of Spore creatures ................. 124

Figure 100: Image processing based on markers for augmented reality applications .......... 125

Figure 101: Topps 3D collector cards and the Eye of Judgement game on PS3 .................. 126

Figure 102: Use of augmented reality for marketing purposes ............... 126

Figure 103: The USPS Virtual Box simulator ............ 127

Figure 104: ARhrrrr, prototype of a mobile game based on augmented reality .................... 128

Figure 105: Layar application based on augmented reality for mobiles operating on Android............................ 129

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